Here We Go Again

      We took advantage of the great winter? Weather today to begin pruning our vines.  Here are Drew, Zach and David starting on the Vidal Blanc.  With the sunshine and temperatures in the 50's we decided to get started a few days early.  It was just nice to work without being cold in some part of our body.  The boys are all familiar with our pruning procedureso we made good time and finished half of our Vidalby the end of the first day.  Hopefully, the weather will remain nice for tomorrow as we are planning to finish up the Vidal and then begin on the Chardonnay.  If you are reading this and would like to help, we plan to keep on pruning throughout the holiday break.   Anyone is welcome to join is and the lessons are free!

Feature Photographs

      Today Todd Espenshade and I worked in the winery today taking pictures for our new web site.  When we were done he shared a project that he did for his graphics design class with me.  It is a book of his photographs that he used to tell a story.  As you can see by my photos of his pictures, the subject was Cassel Vineyards.  These pictures do not do the book justice because the actual photographs are stunning.  We hope to use his pictures in a video story that you can see on our new web site.  Here are just a few of his photos.  

      

Holiday Wine Blending Party

       On Saturday, Dec. 20 we held our Holiday Blending Party for Cassel Vineyards of Hershey.  At the party, we were trying to establish what % of this year's wines we needed in each of our new blends.  We also worked on our sweetness levels for the two new wines which may appear on shelves this coming year.  

      To call it work is a gross exageration of that word.  We drank 4 samples each of 3 wines mixed in different proportions and sweetened to different levels.  When we were done we were all very happy.  The results will appear in our tasting room next March and include a new blend of our Winners Circle Red (dry Chambourcin/Cab. Franc), a semi-dry Cab. Franc Rose', and a semi-sweet Chambourcin Blend.

  The party was a complete success and the wine was a fun diversion.  I wish work could always be this fun.  The picture shows our many happy "workers" at the blending party.

New Friends from New York Renewed

    This past weekend, we had a visit from our friends  Joseph and Christine from Brooklyn, NY.  We met them back in The spring when they stopped in for their initial visit. They were in town for the Farm Show Auto Auction in Harrisburg and enjoyed their visit to the winery.  After they returned home and finished their wine, they found out in our newsletter that we were closing for the winter. It was so nice to see them again and reconnecting.  Greg had a nice time catching up and listening to their reason for returning.  The two friends of ours returned to pick up a case of our Chocolate Port and some other essential gifts for their friends and family.

     This winter we are working on updating our Website so that friends who don't want to travel all over the east coast to get our wine won't have to.  We certainly love reconnecting and visiting with our friends both old and new.  Soon, we should be able to ship to our friends and family everywhere.  Stay in touch and check up our new website in the near future.

Chocolate and Wine for Christmas

     We received a gift of some premium Hershey chocolates this week and decided to spread them among our guests to see if we could find any perfect pairings.  On our first day we had quite a few guests who tried and enjoyed the pairing.  The crowd favorite was our Chambourcin with the 74% cacao with cranberries, cherries and vanilla.  The Dark chocolate pomgranite and acai berries were also very easy to match with our dry reds and sweeter whites.  Everyone had fun and the chocolate was a nice addition to a cold rainy afternoon.  Stop by tomorrow if you would like some samples.

Transfer Night in the Winery

      Spent all evening in the winery transfering wine.  500 gallons of Vidal Blanc, 500 gallons of Cab Franc and 250 gallons of our new Cab Franc Rose'.  Everything looks great, smell lovely and most importantly tastes amazing.  The flavors this vintage are very interesting.  Lots of berry, cherry and complex smellls of currants and fruit preserves.  There is a long way to go with layers of oak and toasted vanilla still to develop but the potential is there for our best vintage ever!  Stay tuned and you can taste it yourself in 2016.

Late Harvest Vidal

     

      We spent the weekend pressing the late harvest Vidal Blanc.  The resulting juice was amazing.  The final product was almost identical to the juice from last season so hopefully the yeast and wine can decide on another amazing set of flavores that they would like to reveal.  Last year we brought out the bourbon and French oak to finish the late harvest.  This year may be more of the same, but it is also possible to pull other amazing flavores and smells to the forefront in these sweet, dessert wines.  One of my favorites was a French Late Harvest Sauternes with the smell of honeysuckle and flavores of honeyed peaches.  Hopefully, some of these flavores will decide to manifest themselves so that we can get a better idea of how to finish this next batch.  Stay tuned to hear more as this wine progresses.

Beaujolais Nouvea

     A great party tonight as usual at the Hotel Hershey sampling the B & G 2014 Beaujolais nouveau.

We enjoyed the wine and the beautiful surroundings.  The food was great, the wine was amazing and the friends were the highlight of our night.  Comparing our present tasting to last year's tasting is interesting.  We have a very different wine that looks like it is going to be very fresh and flavorful.  Come out to the winery this weekend for a sample.  

Our Biggest Fans

     Last night we had a great time at our wine tasting dinner at Dafnos in Hershey. Although the dinner and wine pairing were spectacular, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank some of our biggest fans.  Their faces and names always show up around the winery.  First, thanks to John and Melissa at Dafnos.  For the past 5 years their restaurant has served our wine and tirelessly introduced their friends and customers to our wines and paired them with our foods. 

  A second fan at our table last night was Jody Dimpsey who has introduced our wine to more Hummelstonians than i knew existed.  Jody has featured our wine at every Hummelstown Arts Festival Event and Meeting and several fire house fund raisers and raffles.  Everyone she knows receives Cassel Vineyards wine for Christmas from Jody and she loves to support us by spreading our name and our wine.

    Thanks to all our fans.  I will continue to try to recognize all of you at some point along the way.

A Wine Tasting Dinner With Our Friends at Dafno's in Hershey

    Tonight, 20 of our guests enjoyed an amazing Italian dinner at Dafno's Italian Grille in Hershey.  Melissa lovingly prepared this 5 course meal to pair with 5 of our new 2013 vintages.  Everyone loved every course and wine pairing as we ate and drank and talked with friends.  The new 2013 Blush, Chardonnay, Chambourcin and Late Harvest Vidal Blanc earned rave reviews from all our guests and several of the cooks as well.  Thanks to all our friends and guests as well as John and Melissa at Dafno's for a perfect evening.

Menu

Appetizer-Avocado Pomegranate Crostini
w/ Award winning Cassel Vineyards Blush

Soup-Creamy Tomato Soup
w/ New Release Sparkling Chambourcin

Salad-Candied Almond Citrus Salad
w/ Finish Line White

Entrees-Beef Yiouvesti or Grilled Salmon
w/Cab. Franc or Chardonnay
Beef-Slowly cooked in a sweet tomato sauce served over top of rice.
Salmon-Grilled And served with linguini in a creamy pink sauce.

Dessert-Salted Caramel Apple Crisp
w/ Bourbon Barrel Aged Vidal Late Harvest

Crushing Late Harvest

  These are pictures of our Late Harvest Vidal Blanc.  As we start the primary ferment, the temperature is plunging.  If a slow fermentation is beneficial, then this is going to be our best Vidal ever.  I placed the must outside and hope the cold doesn't stop the process.  I will keep you posted.

   In other news, we will participate in Small business Saturday two bays after Thanksgiving and accept American Express on that day.  We will also give free tastings and 20% off case purchases so you can stock up for the holidays and winter.  Once again, we plan to close from Dec. to March to prepare our new vintage!

Our Late Harvest Vidal is Picked!

 

      On this cold Friday, Nov. 14 we came straight home from school and set about picking our final batch of grapes in the vineyard.  It is the same weekend that we picked the grapes last year but as is always the case with wine, this year's late harvest is a completely different batch.  

      The weather moving forecast for next week is very similar to last year when we began fermenting the Late Harvest.  The forecast is for lots of cold weather and I hope the fermentation of this year's Late Harvest  will be as long and slow as it was last year.  It was such a blessing to have so many helpers again today despite the cold weather.  Thanks to everyone who lent us a hand.  Your help is always appreciated.

      

Cornucopia Quest Wine Trail Event

     This week found us entertaining 300 guests a day at Cassel Vineyards.  We had a great time introducing our guests to our wine selections and tasting room.  The fun lasted for two weekends from 12 - 5:00.  

  At times our tasting room was so full that we could not fit anyone inside and I was forced to give tours of the vineyard and production facility to buy more time for our tasting room staff.  Everyone seemed to enjoy actually hearing the story of how grapes get from vineyard to glass.  Some even tried to do the magical job of winemaking themselves!

    In the end, we also crowned one more pumpkin painting champion to join the other three.  

Halloween at Cassel Vineyards

      By now you probably know that we have been busy growing a pumpkin patch, giving hayrides and conducting pumpkin painting classes on Wed. nights in the vineyards.  It has been an extremely productive year and our efforts are once again paying off in big ways.  Not only are our vine, both grape and pumpkin, producing huge amounts of fruit, but our customers are showing their support through their purchasing and event attendance.  We have sold out of 3 varieties of wine on our tastind card and hope to nearly make it through the holiday season with 4 other varieties.  

      This past weekend we showcased some of the pumpkin art that our customers and guests have contributed to the winery for the Cornucopia Wine Country Quest.  We enjoyed more than 400 guests on the first weekend and everyone seemed to enjoy the seasonal theme and the wines.  If you didn't make it last week, we will have one more batch of pumpkins this weekend for our customers to vote on.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of our first week of the Cornucopia Quest.

Last Load of Harvest 2014

   

      

      We just finished picking the last 2 tons of Chambourcin on Sunday, October 26 at 2:00 in the afternoon.  What a relief to now have our 32 tons of grapes in tanks and aging for the upcoming 2015 year.  Our 2014 vintage was late ripening but the slow, cool summer temperatures really gave us some nice full flavored fruit.  Compared to last year when we had the hot dry August - October, this years cool dry maturation led to fresher, fruitier grapes with less of the ripe, jam and deep ripe flavors.  

     The harvest also exceeded our expectations for quantity producing 32 tons. Last year we struggled to pick and process 24 tons.  This year we will need some larger tanks!  All I can say is thank you to everyone who helped.

Sunset on the Pumpkin Patch

The last weekend for pumpkin patch hayrides @Cassel Vineyards of Hershey.  The Halloween holiday is almost upon us.  We are nearly done with our harvest and look forward to a weekend of R&R.

First Frost of 2014

     The temperatures last night got down to 34 degrees and as you can see we got a killing frost for the first time this year.  The cold weather and frost pooled in the low areas which included the concord vines at the bottom of the hill.  We definitely planted these early, American varietals in the right place.  Unlike the Cab Franc which are on the hill behind the Concords which still need a little more time, the Concords can afford to lose their leaves and go dormant.  We definitely need a few more days on our Cab which we will finish picking this Friday between 3:30 and 7:00.  With only 5 more half rows to pick, the job should be done before the football game.  Our work is cut out for us, but it feels good because the end is in sight.  The weather is trying to help us along as we hurry to put our finest grapes in the tank.  When we finish I guarantee that you want to be here for our party.  We are going to celebrate the season and the fruits of our labors.

Cab Franc Harvest Nearly Complete

     This weekend we started our Cab. Franc harvest with several goals in mind.  We wanted to get our grapes in the tanks but we wanted to split our harvest in two parts.  Next season we hope to offer two new wines both from our Cab. Franc.  We also plan to use the usual amount of that varietal for our blends that our customers have come to appreciate.  The perfect Summer growing season and warm fall weather have combined to give us a bountiful harvest and amazing production.  We hope you like all the new wines this amazing summer allowed us to grow.  Only one more harvest weekend left if things go as planned.  We will pick the last third of our Cab. Franc this Fri. and then pick our Chambourcin this Sunday.  If you want to lend a hand this is the weekend to do it.

Two Weeks Left

         There are only 2 weeks left in our 2014 Harvest and only two more weeks to ride the hayride to the pumpkin patch.  Right now we have finished the white harvest and now we are on to the reds.

While we harvest our Cab. Franc this weekend, the hayrides to the pumpkin patch will be leaving ever hour between 12 and 6:00 on Friday and Saturdy.  Next weekend while we harvest the Chambourcin, the hayrides will also be taking place for one final weekend before Halloween.  It should be a great time.  hope you can make it out either to help pick or to take a ride on the hayride to the pumpkin patch.

Half Way Done with Harvest 2014

     After a Friday/SaturdaySunday picking marathon, we have our Vidal Blanc safely crushed, Pressed and in the primary fermentation tanks.  We had a lot of help getting things set up and can't thank our workers and friends enough for all the work you helped us ge done.  With 5/6 th of the Vidal Blanc juice fermenting, we have almost 700 gallons to use for next years vintages. The weather has cooperated to make this year's white wines as good as any we have harvested so far.  Last year the grapes were more marure a and sugar levels were just a touch higher because of. The late summer/fall heat and sunshine.  This year was cooler and more moderate in temperature which allowed our cool weather grapes (whites) to develop more unique flavores and balance.  We plan to keep alcohol levels just a little lower to highlight the fruit flavores while we balance out the acidity and lower pH.  These whites and Rose' including our Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc and Concord Rose' should be some of our best ever.  We are also looking to make a Cabernet Franc Rose' that may be a unique best seller.  

   Next weekend, we start harvesting our red wines.  It should be interesting to. See how those final numbers hold out.  We expect a lot moe of the same high quality, so come on out and see for yourself.

Pumpkin Patch Hayrides

      Well, the fall season hàs brought us all of the fruits of our Summer labors.  All those hours of work in the Spring rains and Summer heat are paying off in chilren's smiles, savory smells, and fruity tastes dripping with sunshine.  

      The Pumpkin Patch Hayrides are bringing children and their parents together each weekend to experience the fresh air, sunshine and outdoors in our huge pumpkin patch.  These young girls were the first happy riders last Sat. at noon.

      Each weekend we host picking parties that consist of 20 - 50 friends, students and strangers who come together to help us pick our tons of grapes.  In return we try to show our appreciation through a delicious home cooked meal and shared wine and fresh grape juice.  Everyone leaves happy, and many of our volunteers return week after week and year after year.

      In the end, our most prominant and appreciated fruit of our labor is the wine we make from the grapes we grow.  I like to call it #sunshineinabottle.  Stop by in the next 3 weeks to try the grapes and taste their sweetness before we transform them into one of our delicious wines.  Or you can just enjoy a bottle off our shelf and taste that sunshine when you open that bottle.

Night Picking and Harvest Party

      We are picking our Vidal Blanc this Sat. Evening at 6:00 PM.  The day will be spent eating and playing from 2-6:00 at our Harvest Festival.  the weather looks great and we have a great agenda set up for the day.  We kick off with live music, hayrides and pumpkin picking from 2-6:00.  Starting at 3:00 we will have several competitions including grape stomping and corn hole.  We will also have some awsome food and wine making their debates @ Cassel Vineyards.  First, we plan to release our Vidal Blanc Late Harvest and give samples for the first time ever.  Second, we will be serving pit Beef sandwiches to go with our other delicious wines. As the weather cools and the sun sets, enjoy a glass of our warm spiced wine or buy a gift pack to take home to enjoy with a friend later.

     At 6:00 as the harvest moon rises we plan to pick our Vidal Blanc so that we can process them in the cool night air.  The weather is going to make this an amazingly memorable day and night.  Please stop out and join us so we can spend the day together.

Signs of the Season

      The spice packs for mixing up spiced wine have once again made an appearance on the shelf at Cassel Vineyards.  We are still waiting for a cool evening at one of our concerts to serve our seasonal favorite.  You can pick up the wine and spice packets all ready for your drinking pleasure for $30.  We've also decorated our building for the holidays thanks to Donna Meyers.  Thanks for making the beautiful harvest wreaths that grace the doors on the front of our building.  They really look striking when the sun sets and makes them shimmer.

Early Morning Mists and Nightime Harvest

    With the warm, dry, Fall days, we have nothing to complain about in the vineyard.  However we do have to modify our picking strategies to keep the grapes in the best possible condition for winemaking.  This is another advantage we have over all the local wineries that buy their grapes from in-state and out-of-state growers.  

    This weekend we plan to pick our Chardonnay grapes early in the morning, like you see in the picture, while they are still cool from the, fog and low nightime temperatures.  It serves us well to keep the white grapes cool before crushing and pressing in order to minimize oxidization and the associated dark colors we see in other wines.  

     After this weekend, we get a short break before we change over to picking the Vidal Blanc on October 11.  For the Vidal we are planning to do another night pick with headlamps as the sun goes down.  The last time we did the nightime picking, people had a fantastic time. 

     Then we can turn our attention to the Chambourcin and Cab Frac which should be ready in late October or eArly November.  If anyone wants to help, this weekend we will start at 8 on Sat. and 9 on Sunday.  The Vidal picking will begin at 6:00 on Oct. 11 th.  Come out and join us if you want to have some fun in the vineyard!

Harvest 2014

    We have been working like mad to take advantage of the cool, dry weather we have been enjoying here in south central PA.  Th last two weekends have found us harvesting a bumper crop of Concord grapes.  Because of the cool, wet Summer, the sugar levels have risen very slowly.  The acid has slowly been falling and we have been patiently waiting for the perfect moment when sugar, acid and pH all come together.  Unfortunately, this year I don't think that time is ever going to come for the  Concords.  Not that the grapes won't make great wine it just looks like we are going to have to work a little harder to help the grapes reach their fullest potential.  Next week we will pick the final two rows of concord on Sunday.

      This Saturday, we plan to pick the Chardonnay in the morning while the grapes are nice and cool. The weather is looking good and the Chardonnay is developing much better than the Concord.  Today we tested the Chardonnay and it looked like it will all come together for us on Saturday morning.  We will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.  Wish us luck and join us if you can.

Vineyard Light Show

O      The last several Fall days have provided some beautiful sunsets and harvest moon rises.

  All these spectacular light shows herald the start of harvest.  The cool, wet Spring and Summer have given way to a warm, dry fall just in time to ripen our grapes.  This weekend we will begin the harvest with our Concord and next week we will tackle the Chardonnay.  The fun begins at 9:00 AM and we will take a lunch break with Ham, Beans and Potatpoes.  

So enjoy the light show with us and see what the harvest moon holds in store.

Fall Evenings and Great Music

      Fall has always been my favorite time of year.  I know some people view it as a time of death as the days shorten and give way to darkness, but I grew up on a farm and Fall has always been about harvest and celebration in my life.  Summer is nice with the heat and humidity but I live for crisp Fall days with cool, clear nights.  Evenings come sooner but their is nothing like sitting around a fire and watching the harvest moon rise over the fields. 

       In the vineyard, our grapes are becoming ripe and we are looking forward to the crazy days and nights of harvest and winemaking.  This year is shaping up to be an outstanding year if the warm, dry days and cool crisp nights continue through October.  Because of the abundant rain, we did not hesitate to allow our vines to retain a large crop of fruit.  Now as the fruit continues to ripen, we are happy we made that decision and ready to make some of the best wines we have ever made.  Each year that the grapevines get older, their fruit becomes more complex.  Now with fall coming on strong and the possibility of an Indian Summer to continue ripening we anticipate another celebration and lots of great wine!

A Sunset Toast

      Yesterday evening in the vineyard we had a little gathering of friends.  The sun was setting and we had a special bottle of wine so we offered up a toast to a special member of our group who was missing.

      Lilly Hoffman passed away 2 weeks ago as a result of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  The most tragic thing was that she was only 3 years old.

She would have loved to be with us, because the vineyard was one of her favorite places.  She loved grapes and helped us pick the grapes for the wine we were toasting.  Last year our Late Harvest Vidal which will be released in November was picked with Lilly's help so we affectionately call it Lilly's Wine.  It has an extra special sweetness imparted by her extra sweet little girl.  

      Lilly's grandparents have set up a foundation to benefit research on Childrens Diseases and the Milton S Hershey Medical Center's Childrens Hospital.  Please help us help other children in Lilly's memory.

The Lily Bennett Foundation

C/O Northwest Savings Bank

1048 East Main Street

Palmyra, PA. 17078

Here is a Pennlive news piece done for Lilly.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/09/rocky_mountain_spotted_fever_l.html